If it had been an ordinary letter, Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic, would have barely glanced at it before tossing it into the rubbish bin.
After all, the Ministry of Magic received hundreds of letters daily, nearly half of which were addressed directly to him.
Most of these were angry complaints from wizards, lambasting the Ministry's failure to act on Sirius Black's escape. The rest were trivial grievances—goblins gathering to wreak havoc on gardens, Gringotts staff displaying poor customer service, or fraudulent correspondence courses scamming Squibs.
Did these wizards have nothing better to write about?
Reading these letters often felt like a waste of life to Fudge.
But today, a few letters stood out.
Though unsigned, they contained keywords like "Hogwarts" and "Dementors," striking a nerve with his current concerns and compelling him to read further.
The letters, written in an alarmingly serious tone, alleged that an illicit faction was brewing within Hogwarts. The leader of this group was a Slytherin student named Jane Yu. According to the letters, she had attacked a Dementor on the train, obstructing its official duties. Subsequently, she repeatedly interfered with their enforcement actions, even rallying prefects to drive away the guards sent by the Ministry. In summary, her behavior was highly suspicious, suggesting a strong likelihood of collusion with the criminal Black to hinder the Ministry's efforts to apprehend him.
Such actions, the letters claimed, were utterly reprehensible and intolerable.
They urged Minister Fudge to investigate the matter thoroughly and restore Hogwarts to its former purity.
On any other day, Fudge would have scoffed at such claims.
After all, the letter was absurd—
Who in their right mind would dare attack a Dementor? Who would even dare approach one?
Even he, the Minister for Magic, avoided dealing with them whenever possible!
But times had changed. Ever since Sirius Black's escape, he had vanished without a trace. Despite the Ministry deploying numerous Dementors and Aurors, they had failed to track him down.
Months had passed, and public criticism of the Ministry had grown louder. The Gilderoy Lockhart scandal had already caused dissatisfaction among some, and Black's escape further eroded the Ministry's credibility.
Whenever Fudge visited places like Hogsmeade, he was met with complaints from shopkeepers about Dementors searching their premises and scaring away customers, leaving him deeply embarrassed.
Capturing Sirius Black as quickly as possible had become the most urgent task to quell public outrage.
Yet, instead of apprehending the criminal, troubling news from Hogwarts only added to Fudge's headaches—
The Dementors had violated their agreement not to enter school grounds, storming the Quidditch pitch and attempting to attack students.
This incident led to another clash with Dumbledore. The headmaster had quickly lodged a strong protest, demanding the removal of the Dementors and the deployment of experienced Aurors instead.
Fudge was at his wit's end. After all, Aurors were a scarce resource, already dispatched to track Black's whereabouts.
While he had considered recruiting and training more Aurors, hiring them would cost money.
In contrast, the Dementors were a cost-effective option.
Moreover, Fudge was determined to allow the Dementors to conduct a thorough search of the castle—
The events on Halloween strongly suggested that Black was still hiding within Hogwarts.
This stalemate with Dumbledore only deepened his frustrations.
Deep down, a voice of resentment toward Dumbledore had long been influencing Fudge's thoughts.
After securing his position as Minister for Magic, Fudge often sought Dumbledore's advice, relying on his reputation and support to establish himself within the Ministry.
But over time, a seed of suspicion took root in his mind—
Dumbledore meddled too much, always offering opposing opinions, like an inescapable shadow...
His influence extended so far; perhaps he intended to usurp the position of Minister...
The issue of the Dementors served as a catalyst, unleashing Fudge's pent-up dissatisfaction.
The anonymous letters were like a gift falling into his lap, perfectly aligning with his agenda.
Who knew if Jane Yu's obstruction of official duties was orchestrated by Dumbledore?
Was it a protest against the Ministry, against his decision to station Dementors at the school?
After all, she was Dumbledore's adopted child!
Regardless of the truth, these letters provided sufficient grounds for him to challenge Dumbledore and achieve his goal of allowing the Dementors to search the castle.
...
In the headmaster's office.
"I'm sorry, Albus," Fudge said, fingers interlocked, his brows furrowed in a semblance of regret. "Unfortunately, I've received several complaints accusing Jane Yu of misconduct. They strongly urge the school to expel her as soon as possible."
Dumbledore's face darkened. His expression had never been so grim, causing Fudge to feel a pang of unease.
Little did he know that a storm of fury had ignited within the headmaster's heart.
And he was silently wishing Gilderoy Lockhart a peaceful retirement in Azkaban.
The word "expel" had undoubtedly struck a nerve with Dumbledore.
"Er..." Fudge wiped the sweat forming under the oppressive aura of the powerful wizard before him and pressed on, "Attacking Dementors, obstructing Ministry enforcement, hindering official duties... these are very serious allegations."
Suddenly, the office's doors and windows slammed shut with a bang, even though Dumbledore hadn't moved a finger.
This made Fudge shift uncomfortably, his mind involuntarily mapping out an escape route.
Dumbledore's voice was as cold as ice, his piercing blue eyes fixed sharply on Fudge:
"I believe anonymous letters cannot serve as evidence to slander my student."
"If a mere young witch can attack Dementors, then perhaps the Ministry's decision to employ them as Azkaban's guards is fundamentally flawed."
This response deftly redirected the criticism, targeting the Ministry's controversial use of Dementors.
Fudge, however, refused to take the bait. Lowering his gaze, he rubbed his smooth forehead and steered the conversation back:
"But we have evidence—the Dementors reported being attacked within the school."
"We have reason to believe that their intrusion into the Quidditch pitch was a direct result of Miss Yu's prior assault."
Dumbledore's expression grew even darker, immediately discerning the underlying implication.
The Dementors were under the Ministry's command; summoning them to testify was out of the question.
This meant Fudge could fabricate their statements at will.
It was clearly a pretext to pressure him into allowing the Dementors to search the castle!
"I'm sorry, Cornelius, but I cannot agree," Dumbledore firmly refused. "Perhaps we should ask her directly. The child is currently in Potions class."
As he stood up, Fudge asked in surprise:
"Albus... are we going to see her in person?"
He received an affirmative response.
This was highly unusual. Given their status, they shouldn't personally seek out a student...
Fudge's suspicion was well-founded.
Under normal circumstances, Dumbledore would never have allowed him to meet her in person.
But now, he simply wanted to make the man who dared suggest expelling his child climb seven or eight flights of stairs—preferably until he collapsed from exhaustion!
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